Aston Martin has addressed the speculation about Lance Stroll, confirming he will continue with the team in 2024. The Silverstone-based team believes the Canadian driver is not significantly slower than teammate Fernando Alonso.
The current deficit between Alonso and Stroll in the standings is over 100 points, the biggest gap between teammates outside of Red Bull. Whilst Alonso already has an impressive seven podiums in 2023, the 24-year-old has only managed one top 5 finish.
Although reliability issues (i.e. Jeddah) have played something of a role, it is clear that Stroll is several steps behind his teammate.
Furthermore, with Aston Martin now fighting at the front, the Canadian’s skill gap compared to the best on the grid (Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, etc.) is clear.
Irrespective of whether Stroll deserves a seat in Formula 1, there can be little debate that he is the weakest link among the top teams.
Despite this, Mike Krack insists the British outfit will retain its current line-up:
“We don’t have any such debate; we will be fine next year with the two drivers,” he told the media in Italy.
19.03.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Race Day.
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“There is not a marked gap in performance – there is a marked gap in points.
“As a team, we analyse the season from both perspectives. And as a team, we need to do a much better job on that side of the garage.
“We have also had reliability issues, and it was always on that car. So it is something we need to do better.”
Aston Martin is currently third in the constructors’ standings, and Fernando Alonso’s contributions could be enough to keep the team in that position for 2023.
Moving forward, however (regardless of any justifications given by the team), a stronger second driver will be necessary to fight on equal terms with the best in F1.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
